This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
Electrical power distribution systems employ overcurrent relays that control the switches in the network to operate when a fault occurs. Some switches will be in series downstream of a source and need to coordinate their overcurrent relays such that only the switch closest to the fault operates.
Electric power distribution systems may also employ intelligent switching systems to automatically reconfigure the electrical network in the event of a fault to restore power to as many customers as possible. After network reconfiguration, overcurrent relays may be in series downstream of a different source and will need to coordinate with neighboring overcurrent relays again.
Several existing approaches use primary and alternate protection setting groups for the overcurrent relays when a switching event occurs. However, this approach is not scalable in that it does not address an arbitrary number of network reconfigurations. Additionally, selecting from pre-defined setting groups until no coordination issues occur does not provide the fastest protection possible, which is desirable when trying to reduce damage to utility equipment.
Accordingly, it is desirable to automatically coordinate protection settings for overcurrent relays in the event of a fault and network reconfiguration. It is also desirable to automatically coordinate protection settings for overcurrent relays that are geographically dispersed in a distribution network. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.